Jason Isbell accepts the 2018 Americana Album of the Year with producer Dave Cobb

At the 2018 Americana Music Awards held on September 12th, the amount of diversity represented in both the performances and the award recipients was above and beyond anything we’ve seen from a country music organization, whether it’s the CMAs, the ACMs, Ameripolitan, the IBMAs (bluegrass), or any other similar grassroots awards or country music offshoot. Out of the six Lifetime Achievement honors handed out on the evening, five were for women, three were for members of the LBGT community, and two were for African American performers. There wasn’t a single white male to receive a non-voted award personally curated by the Americana Music Association.

The 250+ names in the lineup for the week-long 2018 AmericanaFest had more diversity than ever, whether that’s considering the amount of women, members of the African American community, other minorities, representation from foreign countries, or LBGT performers. 2018 saw Americana sanction the first “queer roots” showcase, where artists like Lavender Country, Little Bandit, and Amythyst Kiah performed. Multiple panels and showcases during the event specifically highlighted the influence of African Americans on Americana music, as well as a panel on the challenges women in music face.

Americana has always insisted on being inclusive, and has emphasized the role of blues and soul as vital influences to the diverse palette that composes Americana music. Keb Mo and Taj Mahal were early adopters and champions of the music, Mavis Staples and the McCrary Sisters are now as synonymous with Americana as anything.

2018 was a high water mark when it came to the amount of diversity showcased by the organization and its community. But still the criticism for Americana’s lack of diversity have grown louder, bolstered by the current political climate where many feel they need to insist upon more diversity, regardless of the level of diversity being represented already.

Jason Isbell, who won Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Duo or Group of the Year at the 2018 Americana Awards said the following day, “I’m conflicted. Yes, I’m extremely grateful for the awards last night, but I also wish the list of winners was at least as diverse as the list of nominees. How to move forward with voters who share that sentiment? I don’t know. I’d honestly like to see it, though.”

Jason Isbell’s opinion underscores the underlying problem with Americana diversity. The community’s diversity issue is not on the stage, or even in the representation of award recipients or nominees. The problem is that when you look out over a given crowd at an Americana event, it is still nearly 100% white. It also tends to be very educated and predominately affluent.

Americana does not have a diversity problem on the stage, it has a white gaze problem from the crowd, and this is on the fans and the community, not the organization or its representatives and artists, if anyone deserves to be blamed at all. When Jason Isbell said that he hoped the award winners were more diverse and that it somehow needed to be dealt with in the voting population for the awards, he was referring to a voting population that is predominantly white.

UK-based African American soul singer Yola Carter was one of the cornerstone performers at AmericanaFest 2018. As the Artist of the Year for the UK-based arm of Americana last year, she’s a burgeoning star in the scene. On Thursday night of AmericanaFest, she appeared at the Nashville Palace as part of the week’s Music City Roots taping. Yola received standing ovations for her heart-stopping performances. But not a single African American was in the audience. At the 2018 Americana Music Awards show, the audience was almost exclusively white as well, even though African Americans made up nearly half of the performers and musicians who appeared on stage.

There is no easy way to diversify the Americana audience. As the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. People listen to what they want to listen to. African Americans and other minorities are just not as interested in Americana music in the same numbers as they are in other genres, and efforts to integrate Americana with more African American and minority artists in general has not changed that outcome. That’s why it also stands to reason that adding even more diversity to Americana events will not in any way influence the white gaze issue.

There will never be a point where Americana will find a level of diversity that will satiate the calls of those who see a lack of diversity as a blemish on the burgeoning genre. But in its effort to try, Americana could continue to erode the support behind the genre as it continues to work to define itself, and the listening public continues to be more confused by what the term means—even more so as more diversity is added, and artists from other genres outside of the intuitive borders of Americana are included.

This is not to say that diversity is in any way a bad asset for Americana, or shouldn’t be constantly strived for. Diversity is one of the elements that has created the strength behind the movement. But if the genre stretches to meet arbitrary diversity requirements imposed that will never be satiated in the first place, it risks losing the integrity of the superstructure of representing and defining American roots music in all of its multiple forms.

At the discussion panel “Minds in Potion: Ongoing African-American Innovation in Roots Music” that occurred on Friday, September 14th of the event, the idea of adding hip-hop to the Americana was discussed, and was championed by important members of the Americana community such as NPR’s Ann Powers. “People who don’t think hip-hop is part of Americana are out of touch,” panelist Kam Franklin of the band The Suffers said, later suggesting that hip-hop acts such as Big K.R.I.T and others should play AmericanaFest in the future.

It’s true that many of the same blues influences that went on to infer country, bluegrass, and other more established Americana art forms are also at the foundation of hip-hop, and there may be some artists that could be represented in Americana that could help illustrate that shared lineage. But hip-hop is also the largest, most successful popular genre in all of music, enjoying much more representation on radio and at major mainstream festivals, and is a genre that is heavily funded and favored by major labels.

Regardless of anyone’s definition of Americana, something most can agree on is that it’s a genre that represents music that otherwise would not be represented by a major organization. Though just like country or Americana, hip-hop may have acts that need support that is not being received, hip-hop enjoys its own infrastructure and support base to find and develop talent. Americana was set up to give support to music that didn’t have it at all. Adding hip-hip to Americana would ultimately mean the edging out of artists who do not have opportunities without the Americana organization, while once again working to confuse the public about what the term “Americana” even means, and still not measuring a dent in the white gaze issue. Many of the artists supported by Americana had to flee country because of the infiltration of hip-hop influences edging them out.

At the 2018 Americana Music Awards, country comedian Wheeler Walker Jr. joked that Americana is country music that nobody listens to. Often people have defined Americana as the the farm league/retirement home of the country genre. As funny or insulting as these things may come across, there is also an element of truth to these assessments, and something the Americana community shouldn’t be ashamed of. Calling Americana the non-commercial side of country music should be a badge of honor for the community.

Americana was created because artists such as Jim Lauderdale, Buddy Miller, Lucinda Williams, and even aging country greats like Johnny Cash were being overlooked. Since then it has found a shared mission with artists such as Keb Mo, The Mavericks, Irma Thomas and Buddy Guy who both won Lifetime Achievement awards in 2018, as did Rosanne Cash and KD Lang, with little to no complaints from the Americana community, but a honor to represent such diversity, both sonically and culturally.

But the most talked-about moment of the 2018 Americana Music Awards was not Jason Isbell’s three wins, John Prine’s award for Artist of the Year, any specific performance, or the Lifetime Achievement recipients. It was the moment Tyler Childers won the Emerging Artist of the Year trophy, and then proceeded to lash out at the idea behind Americana as being a distraction from the real issues plaguing country music, and for being a nebulous, indefinable term.

There will never be a firm definition for Americana, and what the genre encompasses will always be up for discussion. Diversity should also always be a priority of the genre, as it should be for every art form and cultural institution. But as the community moves forward, it should also understand that the greatest risk and challenge to Americana is its inability to explain itself. You can strive for diversity among the population of performers, and still help define Americana sonically by not stretching the sonic palette too far.

And Americana music should never be embarrassed about putting its best foot forward. Jason Isbell winning most all of the competitive awards right now may feel unfair. But he’s also the genre’s superstar, and the way for Americana to put its best foot forward. At some point in the future, other artists will rise up to take Isbell’s place, possibly a woman or a minority, and Isbell will be the one receiving a lifetime achievement award. But that will only happen if Americana survives, and doesn’t implode from trying to be all things to all people, as opposed to attempting to define its place in the music world, even if that definition continues to breathe and shift, and is never fully codified.

“Americana does not have a diversity problem on the stage, it has a white gaze problem from the crowd, and this is on the fans and the community, not the organization or its representatives and artists, if anyone deserves to be blamed at all.”

Again, that quote was completely taken out-of-context. Stupid that you can write 20 paragraphs of information, a title that clearly states your opinion, and someone can’t even include a quote in between the punctuation—let alone in-context—to completely mischaracterize your opinion.

I still agree with Chuck. Your quote wasn’t taken out of context. Just because you say “if anyone is to be blamed” doesn’t let you off the hook for your assertion that it’s somehow the fans fault for being white. This is all aiding the monogenre trend in music. Are we really going to try and say hip hop is American roots music? It does have roots, but they’re not from this side of the Pacific. Americana suffers from white guilt, not “white gaze”. That’s one of the most ridiculous and offensive phrases I’ve heard in a while. Play the music and let the fans be who they wanna be! I don’t have to be a minority to validate my taste in music! As Clayton Bigsby would say — “Whiiiite Power!” Haha jk

The reason I mentioned white gaze is because it’s the more appropriate way to represent what Jason Isbell was trying to convey, while myself questioning if it should even be considered an issue. If you literally take one part of one sentence from a 20 paragraph article, and leave a key part out of that sentence that qualifies the sentiments being conveyed, you are poorly representing whatever argument you’re trying to make. Frankly, it’s bullshit, and yet another example of the disease that is politics in American society. I am a writer, and I choose the way I convey my words very carefully. Out-of-context mischaracterizations are becoming a scourge of society, and undermining the efforts of people who are trying to broach complex problem with intelligence and understanding.

@Seth of Lampasas If you consider hip-hop more rooted in Africa (across the Atlantic, by the way.) then I don’t know why you wouldn’t consider blues or rock as being rooted in Africa, considering the blues came from African-American slave songs and rock and roll came from the blues.

“Jason Isbell’s opinion underscores the underlying problem with Americana diversity. The community’s diversity issue is not on the stage, or even in the representation of award recipients or nominees. The problem is that when you look out over a given crowd at an Americana event, it is still nearly 100% white. It also tends to be very educated and predominately affluent.”
“Americana does not have a diversity problem on the stage, it has a white gaze problem from the crowd, and this is on the fans and the community, not the organization or its representatives and artists, if anyone deserves to be blamed at all.”

The bullshit is you trying to have it both ways. You can’t expound on isbell’s opinion and then play it off with “if anyone is to be blamed at all”. At the least you’re saying if there is blame, it’s on white fans. Fuck that bullshit.

I’m not blaming fans for being white. I’m blaming the lack of diversity in Americana music on the fact that only white people listen to it. That doesn’t mean those fans are “wrong” in some way, it just means that the crowds lack diversity. So when Jason Isbell calls out the lack of diversity in Americana, I think it’s important to emphasize that it’s not the diversity on the stage he’s talking about, it’s the diversity in the crowd, which makes up the Americana voters.

Ok I accept that. But it’s still irrelevant to me. There’s no one saying “no minorities allowed in the americana universe”. “Let it be” is how I see it unless there is active resistance to diversity. I don’t seen that at all in Americana. The genre is practically begging

Pretty sure that’s what Trig was getting at. The “problem” is that the fans are basically all white, but is that really a problem? Or at least a problem that could actually be solved and is worth worrying about right now? Maybe his wording came across wrong, but I don’t think you two are really far apart at all on this.

If you took half of one sentence out of a 20-paragraph article—and the other part of the sentence you left out resolves the issue you’re concerned about—to make this article about hating white people, you are the embodiment of what both sides of the political divide mean when they say “snowflake.” You are the textbook definition of “triggered.” I’m embarrassed to even have to address this.

You understand this article is advocating for keeping hip-hop out of Americana, and asserting that Americana doesn’t need any more diversity, right?

I expect this kind of mischaracterization by Carrie Underwood Stands on Twitter. Really, really disappointing and embarrassing to see this from my own readers. I choose my words wisely.

There were also hundreds who thought that I said Carrie Underwood had no right to speak about her miscarriages, and that women should not have the same right to speak about their personal lives as men, even though I said no such thing. I cannot provision against every triggered mindset on every hot button issue at the moment, especially as opinions continue to get more extreme and heated by the minute. Yes, sometimes I deal in nuanced arguments of complex problems where no black and white exists because these are important topics. Perhaps I could have been more clear. But at the least I would hope for a little respect and understanding from my readership that I’m not a piece of shit before coming to that conclusion due to half a sentence erased of a key qualifier.

Trigger, I’m sorry some of us embarrass you for thinking critically and not giving in to the scourge that is supposed white privilege in Americana fandom, but Im going to embarrass myself as much as I have to if it means I can do my teeny tiny part to combat the slide if the American psyche into complete insanity.

I like that Americana is such a nebulous genre. It’s really not even fair to call it a genre. It’s a huge umbrella.

I think its fine for Tyler Childers to want to fix country music and still be part of Americana. I think its great that Buddy Guy is known as a blues artist and can still be claimed by Americana. I hope that gospel music calls Mavis Staples one of their own and she stays beloved in the Americana family. I think what Americana does best is present an open borders policy that resists placing walls between genres.

Most rock acts will never really feel like Americana. Most blues or hip hop or pop won’t either. Americana will always be more closely identified with country than anything, but still most country artists will never quite feel like Americana artists. If you love Americana as a format, you kind of just know it when you hear it.

So I loved that AmericanaFest was as diverse as Irma Thomas and Ruston Kelly and The Nude Party and Paul Cauthen and The War and Treaty and John Prine and Fantastic Negrito. It all felt like the spirit of Americana to me.

Exactly how I feel. Americana is an umbrella term for roots music – from rock to folk to soul to blues to country. I believe this should be shouted from the damn rooftops. The fact that Americana is seen as, or has become, an actual genre in and of itself is absurd.

This is 100% correct. Also, I don’t think the general public is particularly concerned. I think the concern is mostly relegated to the authors of viral “think-pieces” (not a dig at Trigger, who remains one of my favorite music writers).

Most people just like what they like. And that’s exactly what they should do.

I’m so bored of Jason Isbell’s ramblings. Nothing will ever satisfy these people. I saw Sarah Shook tweeting about end of the year lists needing to feature more non binary people or something lolll. What a sad state our culture is in. Nobody is entitled to win an award or deserve recognition in a general sense just because of who they are. I can’t beleive I have to say that, but this is what its come to. Sigh.

So true Grayson. Once upon a time, music was for entertainment and people got to individually decide what their tastes and likes were. They didnt have elitists trying to tell them what they ahould listen to. It wasn’t hyper-politicized like we are seeing now. Shouldn’t music awards be about the actual music being made regardless of the artists appearance, skin color, political party etc?
No amount of diversity inclusion is going to change the core Americana audience. If anything it might drive folks away who are disgusted by the incessant political vitriole. Leave music fans alone, let people have their own culture and music choice. If everybody had the same culture, there would be nothing unique about us. But, trying to make Americana a giant umbrella for all music is asinine. The way things are headed, Americana is going to implode.

If you’re going to truly mine the talent of a given genre and make sure to highlight the greatest artists—which is the charge of any awards show—you have to make sure no artist is excluded due to their race, gender, sexual orientation, age, political or religious affiliations, etc. That said, if you’re also highlighting people exclusively because of their race, gender, sexual orientation, age, political or religious affiliations then you’re making the same mistake in reverse.

As a queer I have to agree with you. We have gotten WAY to concerned with labels and quotas. And in my community i t is particularly bad because it feels less like, “This is who I am” and more like, “You are not one of us”. Or having some unique label allows you to be the “first” of something. Bleh…

I never understood the Americana genre label. But now I see the awards as like the Grammys for we who do not follow top 40 much if at all.

I think it’s time to get away from “Americana” being a genre altogether. It makes no sense to use the term to try and define any set of music with similar traits anymore (which is what a genre is), because the umbrella has gotten so large. I think it’s great that a community supporting artists that are worthy yet overlooked by mainstream has been developed over the past few decades. But why does that need to be identified as a genre in this day and age? There are much clearer and defining terms we should be using to define artists or to describe them to someone who has never heard them. This would also help with the diversity topic, as it would create more awareness and interest around specific types of music from a marketing perspective, streaming, or otherwise that are more accurate, targeted and more likely to be consumed by people with an interest in a specific genre.

The Americana Music Association should keep the name, but just have it’s awards include genre groupings, like any other award show, along with a few catch-all categories.

Or even better, the Americana Music Association should break the mold and get out of the awards game all together. They’re not like any other “genre,” so why fall into those same genre trappings. Name 5 or 10 of the best albums/singers/songwriters/etc. from the past year. Give them all freaking awards and then just have a celebration concert. You’ll get plenty of diversity that way without having to name something “best.”

No, I mean be yourself and dont give a damn if other people like the same music as you. It’s the pretentiousness of thinking “oh they like this music too, so they’re like me and that makes me feel better” that is really meaning “be like me”

But Seth, what’s it to you that Hoovs enjoyed the fact that there was a diverse crowd at a Drive-By Truckers show? That in and of itself is not evidence of so called “white guilt.” I think I’d probably feel the same way. Pleasantly surprised, at least. However, I don’t choose which concerts I go based on what I think the crowd make-up will be. And based on my musical tastes, the crowds at the hundreds of shows I’ve been to have been overwhelmingly white. Even blues shows, where there might be a miniscule number of black folks. That’s just the way it is. And with blues and classic soul, it’s not like white people at large support these genres. It’s just that the very small percentage that do make up the vast majority of the fans.

Outside of the commentary of this article i have no problem with enjoying diverse crowds. But in response to an article that is at the least suggesting that fans may share some of the blame for the makeup of Americana audiences, particularly whites, then Hoov’s comment annoys me. And let’s not forget that DBT are even bigger participants than isbell in this white guilt epidemic.

Well, that was short lived. Where’s the diversity at Black awards shows, Hispanic awards shows , and on and on. Whites are not allowed to have something of their own. Otherwise you’re a racist, bigot, backwater hillbilly.
GODDAMMIT ! I give up.

Isbell a progressive fundamentalist. The idea that there must be more diversity is a tenant of his religion. He’s going to evangelize whenever he gets the mic. He’s pretty much Tim Tebow. More talented for sure, but equally fervent. And well meaning. And also annoying. I just hope it doesn’t begin to bleed more into his music. Like when Dylan went Christian rock. Remember those records? Nobody else does either.

It was never about diversity. It’s about shaming whites. These people don’t give a rat’s ass about diversity. It’s why they look at the most “diverse” genre and nominees, and still shriek about white people. No matter how “diverse”, it will never be enough.

As a white, why am I supposed to clamour for extra “diversity” anyways? Frankly, I’m perfectly fine being surrounded by white people, listening to white artists. The more “diversity” you shoehorn in, the more average people like myself will tune out.

PROBLEM? For whom? Artificially forcing more diversity for its own sake sounds like a solution in SEARCH of a problem. Unless someone can find me a charter or document that says “Americana music does and must not include…” and then list off all the groups that ain’t allowed, there’s NOTHING keeping anyone out of “the club.” Artistic styles find their own level and most fit under some general umbrella.

But yeah — damn those educated and affluent bastards who spend their money to hear music they like. How dare they.

Don’t fucking quote me out-of-context. This is a 20-paragraph article advocating for the idea that Americana is plenty diverse and should instead deal with the issue of defining itself, and some folks have decided to take words out of a specific sentence to make it look like my opinion is something that it isn’t.

As I said above, and you excluded, it is fair to question whether the “white gaze” problem is a problem at all. The only reason I even mentioned it was to set a greater context around what Jason Isbell said about Americana’s diversity problem.

I’m going to be honest with you here Trigger, if this many people are misunderstanding you maybe they’re not the problem. Personally I think the article isn’t really making any cohesive points and you aren’t committing to any ideas in it, so all readers can do is latch on to snippets to get a grasp on what you’re trying to say.

I don’t know that there are a lot of people misunderstanding me. I just know that multiple people quoted one part of a sentence without including a very vital part of that same sentence, let alone the greater context.

“Personally I think the article isn’t really making any cohesive points and you aren’t committing to any ideas in it…”

Not everything is black and white. But unfortunately that’s the way most media presents things these days to garner attention from a polarized society. When it comes to the diversity in Americana music, I think it is a complex topic. I think that diversity in Americana is very important and should be strived for, but I also think there’s plenty of it, and we don’t need to add hip-hop in the mix to make it better. I think the performers are plenty diverse, but I feel the need to point out that the crowds are mostly all white. I don’t identify that as a problem necessarily, but I understand how some could, and some couldn’t. I personally don’t take a stance on it.

The problem with media these days is everyone wants you to commit. Sometimes the best way to identify problems and craft solutions is simply to put all the facts and scenarios in one place, and discuss. That’s what I tried to do with this article.

Diversity itself is not a bad thing. The US was built on the concept of being diverse- the fabled “melting pot.” Therefore, it makes sense for a genre labeled “Americana,” which celebrates music with American roots, to be as diverse as the nation it represents. Now diversity for diversity’s sake is a different thing, but that’s not what I’m talking about.

Americana best describes the music I love- country, soul, blues- all under the same umbrella. It also has a certain air of authenticity, which I appreciate. The idea of diversity in the Americana Awards is a big, sticky, issue. I appreciate Trigger starting a dialogue, but it’s not going to be resolved on this board.

I recently saw one of my favorite new acts- The War and Treaty. There were only two African-American persons in the audience. The rest was what most people would describe as “the NPR crowd.” I can be described in that category, too, but I make bones about myself. I met with the band members afterwards, and they were gracious. Even though I wonder how they felt about their audience situation. They recently just opened for the Indigo Girls, so I assume that their average audience is primarily white.

The thing that would make the best in roads would be to simply ask the artists of color themselves. How would they like these shows/awards marketed so that they felt inclusive? Changing the voting body would also help. Many other organizations have done that as well, and they have had generally positive results.

I do want to note that same as country, a lot of the “good” hip-hop acts are not played on the radio or in big festivals. Big K.R.I.T., who is referenced in the article, put out one of the best hip-hop albums of the year but has had no radio airplay that I am aware of, at least in my market. Not saying that hip-hop belongs within the Americana Music Association, but I could see acts like the Nappy Roots incorporating in well.

If we look at the line-up of the recent Americana Fest, it had some of the best talent in the music scene right now. It is not a bad thing to ask how it can reach a big of base as possible.

I’ve been to Drive By Truckers shows in San Fran, San Antonio, and Scottsdale where the audience was well represented by blacks, Hispanics, and women of all ages. These were heart warming moments for me. It’s impossible to curate something like that without deep roots.

Enjoying the fact that people from various backgrounds came together to enjoy some music (especially a genre that has an unfair reputation of being socially backwards) is what constitutes white guilt to you? I’ve got to admit, I haven’t heard that one before.

“(especially a genre that has an unfair reputation of being socially backwards)”

If your emotions/reactions are based on an unfair reputation then you have no reason to worry, strive for, or revel in the approval of the sectors of society who hold the same unfair opinion yet have still found something to appreciate in the institution they view unfairly.

the top definition in the urban dictionary or the word diversity “anybody and everybody as long as they are not Caucasian” sounds about right. Jason Isbell is shooting himself in the foot and doesn’t even know it.

Don’t take it too seriously. Its just Stewie from Family Guy spouting off again about how much he hates the man in the mirror. I have noticed that a lot of people who are incapable of controlling their own desires (drugs, alcohol, womanizing, etc.,) like Isbell did, end up abasing themselves and putting all of this shame, guilt, etc., not only on themselves, but on their group, culture, etc. Once you have failed in your own life, you should probably just shut your trap and stop making grand pronouncements about what is best for rest of the world.

I’ll wait for the “why is Beyonce not nominated for an Americana Award?!”.

Adding hip-hop to the format? So should be Polka, Death-Metal & Jodeln.
I’m a big fan of Kassia. She wrote byzantine hymns around 850. The first known female “songwriter”. She was close to become the wive of the emperor but was too “smart” for the basileus. Theopilos married Theodora instead. Theodora became the emporer after 843. Both woman are canonised (orthodox churches). Time to give Kassia a lifetime achievement award.

When afro-americans don’t like americana…well…that’s the way it is. I don’t like rap, hip-hop or edm & i’m still not convinced americana will become a long-lasting format. It’s a “hip” format with a couple of well known names right now.
The Billboard Americana/Folk charts are a hodge-podge of names like Chris Stapleton (still #1 with Traveller), Hozier, Paul Simon, the Lumineers, Jack Johnson, John Mayer, John Denver, Leon Bridges &…Ed Sheeran. The highest placed female artist is Kacey Musgraves on #15.

People seem to jump up their high horse about being “forced” to do shit. No one is “forcing” diversity. They are making requests. You are free to disagree. Jason Isbell is free to stand up at the podium and speak his part. I think his voice will probably carry farther, whether commenters here like it or not. But neither he nor Trigger are “forcing” anyone to do shit. Let’s not get it confused.

No matter what you say or don’t say, do or don’t do, someone just has to be offended by it nowadays. That’s their problem, not yours, so just stop giving a fuck and do as you please. As long as no one is physically harmed.

Amen. The problem isn’t diversity itself nor even diversity within the Americana umbrella. Country/Americana is already founded on diverse roots. As is America itself. I think the problem is more of not recognizing those roots explicitly (ironic for “roots music”) and not making those roots meaningful to people outside of the (generally white, educated, liberal) Americana audience.

The roots of diversity are already there. The project is to show them.

In the early 80’s I worked theatrical lighting for concerts, some TV, and a movie now and then.

I was backstage with everyone who had a major tour back then, Journey, Lionel Richie, Huey Lewis, those folks, arena bands, and country folks like Hank Jr, Willie Nelson, etc, now and then.

I was never starstruck until one day backstage at the Bammie Awards, a California music awards show, and saw Dave Meniketti and George Thorogood talking to John Lee Hooker.

It was John Lee Hooker that stopped me in my tracks, not the guys from Crosby Stills or Starship/Airplane or Santana, it was John Lee Hooker because guys like that are the mother-source for pretty much everything we listen to now.

And the mother-source for them was slave songs. Everything we listen to today can be traced back to slave songs and african rhythms.

Country music and blues and rock have slave song roots.

George Thorogood gave Hooker a lifetime award and went to his knees while he did it, “We’re not worthy” Wayne’s World style, because George knew his musical history.

Without divers roots, we have no country music. Or rock. Or hiphop/rap.

Thanks RD. To say it’s all goes back to Africa is ignorant. Tons of ‘black’ songs were based off old ballads or folk songs from across way over yonder composed by white people. Anyone who cares about songs and their lineages with the most basic research skills can see that. This includes hymns and spirituals composed by white folk. Not to minimize the contribution of blacks – it is pretty huge – but there’s some total ignorance and myopia going on here.

Yeah RD, ol’ Hank Sr. sure sounded great singing those Irish Celtic songs that Rufus O’Malley taught him. You’re going to need to run to Sherwin Williams and stock up if you’re going to whitewash the history of country music. Jimmy Rogers sang Blues. Bob Qills sang blues and jazz. Your “direct and primary source” claim is patently false. Country music is a sum of its parts.

The historical context for this misattribution is primitivism. Primitivism is de rigueur. Whatever is good comes from primitive, non-Christian, non-European culture. Whatever is bad comes from racist, sexist, homophobic, Christian, European culture. The non-Western are wise and all-knowing. The Western are crude, violent, ignorant, etc. You can blame the French Revolution and the anti-Christian thought that preceded it. Much of this nonsense spilled over into New England transcendentalism, and unfortunately, it is still with us today.

How about you guys go look up the origins and lineage of many jazz, blues, country and folk standards. A ton of them are old ballads from Britain, Ireland etc that immigrants brought to America and were re-imagined. St James Infirmary is a prime example. Though it’s hard to hear now that song and cowboy classic Streets of Laredo share a common lineage coming from an old English ballad about syphilis. What makes American music so special is the combination of so many influences. Down playing any of the influences is bad history. If you cared about the songs instead of some faulty historical narrative that it’s all ‘black’ music you’d see that. I personally think it’s incredible how it played out. Though the style of music Bob Wills played may be black influenced the songs themselves were not. You’ll find verses and lines from old ballads in tons and tons of ‘black’ songs. Poor immigrants and labourers black and white played music together and shared songs. That’s the reality of it whether it fits your narrative or not.

For the most part, I agree with you. I watched a music historian start with the origins of the tune Bonnie Dundee and show how it progressed through the years, and how it was adapted through various periods of war and strife and how the lyrics were changed to fit the times, etc. The origins of the tune are hundreds of years old. These ballads were taken all over the world by Irish and Scots and evolved from there. In the US, they evolved and were influenced by all sorts of other sources.

The idea that country music is based on negro spirituals and hymns is patently false on its face. The vast majority of slaves were not Christians when they arrived here and were not Christianized until they had been here for several generations. Obviously, they were taught these hymns and spirituals by white folks. They certainly didn’t bring them here.

Im with you RD. I was more talking bout the others who seem to think country started with Hank. You probably know more about it than me. You’re hard pressed to find any African roots in string bands or the Bristol sessions etc. I don’t hear much of Africa in the Carter Family. Il have to look up New England transcrdentalism. There seems to be a need for a single narrative for some folks which is obviously wrong. Shit ain’t that simple. Songs are the most important thing to me and looking where the songs came from I think you can get a good idea of where the music we love comes from. It’s more ‘celtic’ than ‘black’ regardless if a black man taught Hank how to play. Country existed before Hank. Cheers.

I am sick and tired of the whole not enough diversity argument because I think it’s pretty much all made by the media, Hollywood elites, etc. I think it’s a false narrative. I think in this day in age when somebody hears a song on the radio they don’t think about what race the singer is just if it’s a good song or not. Unfortunately thier will always be racism in America but among most every day American I don’t think it’s as bad as the media and political interests make it out to be. Could it just be thier isnt as many African American, hispanic, chinese middle easterner fans in the crowd because they just don’t feel the same connection to that style of music as white folks? Country has more white listeners hip hop more African American I think because they just connect with those styles more, not because they’re racist.

Because the Folk/Americana chart is handled like the feeder system for country. Cody’s record was country. It charted #2 on the country chart. Leave Cody Jinks and Ed Sheeran off of it. Leave that for artists who would otherwise not get attention from a Billboard chart if it wasn’t for the Folk/Americana chart, people like Austin Lucas and William Elliot Whitmore who just released records.

Isbell seems to be part of this group of white people who hate white people that has been percolating up here in America. I think of Clayton Bigsby from The Chappelle Show every time I see a white person do this.

At AmericanaFest this year, I purposely sought out opportunities to understand and explore the diversity of Americana. I went to the panels and some of the showcases with diversity as a focus. I went to the “queer roots” showcase, and surprise, didn’t feel threatened as a straight white dude. I thought the music was good, and it was one of the most country showcases of the event. I believe in what Americana is trying to do, and am glad there’s an emphasis on diversity. It’s not right for every live event, but for Americana, diversity is one of its strengths and appeals. It gives you an opportunity to discover something you may have never found otherwise.

That said, I don’t think putting together a “hip-hop Americana” showcase is a good idea. No offense to hip-hip, but AmericanFest is a genre-specific festival and conference. If you want to see and explore hip-hop, there are scores of opportunities to do that. You could even put together a roots-inspired hip-hop festival. In fact there already kind of is one called Afro Punk, and guess what, there was a big controversy this year that it was becoming too commercialized. If you want to support hip-hop, by all means do so. But I don’t think it’s any more appropriate at a roots festival than it is to put country in a hip-hop festival. Sure, if it’s an all-genre festival, tear the borders down. But AmericanaFest is for Americana, which is a term for non commercial music. Hip-hop is the most commercially-successful genre in the world right now.

Americana’s diversity is great. But if you go farther, you’re only going to exacerbate the arguments around what Americana is.

AmericanaFest is a festival and conference that caters to Americana music. The IBMAs are a festival and conference that cater to bluegrass music. Folk Alliance is a festival and conference that focuses on folk music. Along with performances, these three organizations also have an awards show, panel discussions, presentations, and other functions specific to those music scenes, which overlap to some degree, but still work within the parameters of a given sound or style.

Coachella is an all genre fest. So is ACL Fest, and Bonnaroo. At these events, it’s common to have Jay-Z performer right beside Phish and Paul McCartney. Also at these festivals, hip-hop tends to dominate because it’s the most popular genre in America at the moment. They also don’t have awards or presentations, it’s huge stages in big fields.

If someone wanted to throw an Americana festival and mix hip-hop in, that’s their prerogative. But to do it at a festival and conference whose objective is to advocate and support a specific genre or scene of music seems to be an aberration of the mission. Nothing against hip-hop, but it has its own avenues. You include it in Americana, you do it by excluding something else.

Exactly. MANY country acts are fleeing to Americana because they’re being pushed out of country by hip-hop influences. This is what Tyler Childers was talking about. Now they want to bring the monogenre to Americana, and they’re doing it under the misguided notion that they need more “diversity.” The irony is, by bringing in hip-hop, it would be the death of diversity in Americana because just like every other genre (including mainstream country), it all sounds the same.

Yup. it’s doing to Americana (and mainstream country) what was done to mainstream rock: expanding the definition to the point that it really means nothing at all. And I think that is absolutely worth defending against. I remember seeing an opinion piece from Peter Cooper of the Nashville Tennessean after the 2001 American Music Awards with a shit ton of great quotes about other influences seeping into country, but this quote stuck out to me:

“But if country means “‘whatever,’ it really means nothing at all. It’s nothing more than an asparagus steak, or Bogart’s mythical desert seaside, and the fan base is likely to further recede. No one goes to an Italian restaurant hoping for tacos.”

Here we go again. What next? A quota for music crowds? Leave it to Americana to, well, ruin Americana. The latest awards show is a replica of the political yuck-yuck of the Grammy’s with the backdrop of acoustic guitars.

The hip-hop comment feels like a hot take specifically designed to (sorry) trigger a reaction. That’s an extreme position to take in this conversation. But, you certainly don’t need hip-hop to attract a more diverse audience.

Americana isn’t really a genre. It’s an umbrella term for a bunch of different genres. But, it’s also an entity that sells memberships. I think we’re mostly discussing the membership organization here.

The members of the organization don’t seem to be a diverse group and they vote on the awards. That’s probably why Isbell, Prine, Simpson, and Stapleton have dominated the major awards over the past 5 years. Based on who he was nominated against, I assume Jason Isbell was thinking Brandi Carlile should win something.

Brandi Carlile has never won at the Americana Awards. That’s a sign that Americana members are limited in their musical opinions. It doesn’t mean they’re sexist, they just are more likely to vote for something they relate to a little more. Which is fine. But, that also means it’d make sense to have more women involved. She’s hosting a festival to draw attention to the fact that women are often overlooked.

Alabama Shakes only won emerging artist. Leon Bridges has never won. Same for Gary Clark Jr. Rhiannon Giddens.

You don’t need to recognizes these artists in the name of diversity. In fact, if the belief among members of the Americana board (or whatever) is that they should recognize Buddy Guy or Mavis Staples to show some diversity, they’ve completely missed the point.

However you choose to define Americana, it is deeply rooted in music created by black people. On both sides of the Atlantic. Plenty of black artists have carried and continue to carry that torch.

Members must find a way to keep women and minorities in the mix for the headline awards and not just prop them up with lifetime achievements (look up Levon Helm on lifetime achievements).

I think Jason Isbell has a valid point. I learned about some of the great African-American performers in Americana like Kaia Kater and Rhiannon Giddens only over the last couple of years, and mostly by accident (e.g. just happened to be at The Purple Fiddle in Thomas WV when Kaia Kater was playing there).

And that’s where I think people like Jason Isbell and Americana organizations need to take the next step: don’t just talk about diversity in a general sense. Use the platform you’ve been given to make us aware of these artists. I mean tell me specific artists’ names, what they do, where I can find them. If I know about them and get a chance to hear them I’ll probably like them and support their music.

Keep your “fng” political correctness away from my music. Nobody cares but a bunch of idiots about the color of the crowd or the performer. It’s a made up controversy by a bunch of idiot white people wallowing in their liberal guilt. If I tried to explain this to any of my black friends they would look at me like I have two heads.

And “diversity” is required why? If a certain genre of music appeals for the most part to a predominantly white, or black, or any other race – I should care? Keep in mind that the music was likely composed to appeal to the intended audience. The fact that there are few blacks in attendance at a country music concert is a concern to whom? That would be those that seek to divide us by race. If you want to feel good about diversity, note the overwhelming number of whites at a hip-hop concert. Hip-hop would be a sub-genre footnote without the tremendous number of whites supporting the genre. Let the music determine its followers.

I saw an ad for a book recently, by Glenn Beck, titled, “Addicted to Outrage”- to me that is having a good grasp on the obvious- some people have a need to be outraged at something if not everything to feel relevant-

Sounds like someone is upset his music doesn’t appeal to black people. A kind of music that has been predominantly produced by white people appeals mostly to other white people. What a shocker. Maybe if his music had some balls to it that’d be different. Americana lacks any and all bravado completely. No wonder it appeals mostly to milque toast NPR types. I don’t live in the projects, deal crack cocaine, run with gangs, wear my pants to my knees or have multiple different baby mamas so I don’t listen to rap music and nor do I relate to it. I like drinking, dancing, gettin high, cheating, failed relationships and generally being a miserable piece of shit who likes to hang out in dark dirty old bars. Country music is and always will my music of choice (I don’t know what the fuck Americana is supposed to be). It’s a cultural thing not racial.

I get your point on it being about the audience, Trig. I don’t think Charlie Pride brought hordes of black folks into the fold despite his talent and success.

Ah yes, everyone knows that to enjoy/relate to rap you have to be a drug dealing gang member. Give me a fucking break. You say you like “drinking, dancing, gettin high…”, three things that you will find in abundance in a ton of popular rap songs.

Your insights are absurd. Twerking in the club sipping on overpriced champagne is in no way comparable to drinking a 15 pack of Bud Light and two-stepping with your sweetheart. How many rap songs are waltzes? I can sure list a ton of country ones. They are not comparable. Completely different. How many rap songs are good honest to God drinkin tunes? For every one you list there are hundreds of country tunes to counter it. Don’t play dumb. If you think the subject matter is comparable you clearly don’t listen to country music. What about love songs? Talking about how far your girls ass is and how slutty she looks in said club does not count. And for the record im talking about my personal inclinations. Not ‘everyone’ as you put it. Im sorry if my comment struck a nerve since you are insecure about your music choice being a white boy from the suburbs who likes to pretend he’s a real muthafuckin G because he listens to 2pac. I am not their target audience and I am totally okay with that. You can keep on playing make believe if you wish. Your comment really missed the mark, son. It was pretty damn clear what I was saying.

I know you’d like to think I’m some suburban interloper that knows fuck-all about country music, so you can feel somehow superior, but unfortunately for you, I grew up in a trailer house in rural East Texas. I’ve been listening to country music all my life and been coming to this website for the better part of a decade, so I’m fairly confident that I’ve forgotten more about country music than you seem to know about rap.

Oh so only people raised in a trailer park in East Texas can know anything about country music? Im not interested in a dick measuring contest so if you’re not going to address the absurd notions you introduced in your first reply and I addressed in mine im not going to waste my time. Whatever your roots are the point still stands that the subject matter and intended audiences of country and rap music are completely different. Son.

Folks, we’re all brothers and sisters in country music here. We may have slightly different perspectives when it comes to diversity, but let’s not devolve into arguments undercutting each other over this topic. Thanks!

1. I never said that only rural folks know anything about country music. I simply refuted your baseless claim that I’m some suburban wannabe gangster because I “listen to Tupac”.

2. In my first comment I said that you can find innumerable songs about drinking, dancing, and getting high in rap. Those subjects aren’t unique to country, bud. That’s just a fact.

3. Where exactly did I argue that the intended audiences for country and rap are the same? I’ve looked and looked and I’m just not finding it. Of course the intended audiences are different, but you’re just being obtuse if you don’t see that there is SOME shared subject matter between the two genres. A rap song about drinking Hennesy isn’t going to sound like a country song about drinking Johnny Walker Red, but it is by definition a song about drinking.

If you look hard enough or move the goal posts far enough you’ll find ‘shared’ subject matter in anything. The Quran talks about Jesus so we are all the same right? Clearly I was talking about the vast differences in my post. 17 other people got it but whatever. I will respect trig’s wishes and refrain from calling you a pedantic idiot and leave it at that. All the best.

17 whole likes. Impressive. Actually, any comment criticizing Isbell is bound to get some likes from people who resent his political stances. As it is, I think your first sentence made little sense. I doubt he expects HIS music have that much appeal to the black community. Right or wrong, he was referring to the lack of diversty among the award winners.

I think it made total sense for Isbell to win the awards for song and album. Sure, he’s the superstar of Americana, but he’s also delivering the goods. The award for best group seems automatic, though. And personally, I don’t think they should have been nominated. Really, Isbell is a solo artist. And nobody emerged this year like Childers, so that one made sense.

I’m not sure John Prine needed to win artist of the year again. For one, his album, great as it is, wasn’t released in the time period considered for the album of the year award. Otherwise, I’m sure it would have been nominated. That one seems like name recognition, which is same issue the GRAMMYS have. I think it would have been nice for Brandi Carlile to win that one this year. She had a great year.

I think Prine should have won this year with the astounding success of his new record, and how his name has been on the tip of the tongue of so many other artists. I think last year’s win was the aberration. But if you put Prine on a ballot, people are going to vote him automatically.

I also agree nominating Isbell for Duo/Group was overkill. With his latest album he really wanted to emphasize his band and I appreciate that. It’s shows he’s got the bigger picture in mind. But Jason Isbell doesn’t need another Americana award. When people talk about “diversity,” it’s not just a reference to gender, genre, or race. It can also mean just making sure more people are recognized. Another group could have benefited much more by winning the Americana Duo/Group than Jason Isbell did, and arguably deserved it more.

Aww, fuck. Just show me where to plug in my guitar and lets get on with it. You can call it ameri-rapa-jazza-alta-countr-apolitan or whatever you want. Let’s us just play. Those that like it can crank it up. Those that don’t can move along.

Get out and experience it live–in the wild. Not in the zoo that is some awards show or some label-supported festival. There’s a good band playing Wednesday in Mitchell, IN that’ll show you a thing or two.

I do agree that ‘bringing the mono-genre to Americana’ is a very, very bad idea!

If Isbell and the rest of them want diversity then they simply need to stop putting out albums and touring so others will get recognized. Isbell is very talented and very good when he puts out an album and tours he is the primary focus.

Diversifying the roots crowd wasn’t discussed at all. The only person I know pointing out the lack of diversity in Americana crowds is myself, and I’ve been on record doing it since 2010. The reason you don’t see it discussed is because all of a sudden it points the ugly finger of judgement upon the fans themselves, as opposed to some entity they can claim is stifling diversity like Rolling Stone Country and Rosanne Cash did last year ahead of the 2017 AmericanaFest (https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/inside-the-americana-genres-identity-crisis-202818/). Hip-hop was brought up as a way to further diversify the performers and performances, which as I tried to point out, are incredibly diverse when compared to mainstream country, or just about any given scene of music.

I’m not understanding what ugly finger there is that could be pointed at “the fans.” For example, I’ve seen Los Lobos about six times. The crowd tends to be all white. One of those times, I was at a table with a 60ish couple that was out for a night of entertaintment, but really didn’t know Los Lobos’ music. The husband said that he was surprised that there were no Latinos in the audience to speak of. I wasn’t surprised. They’re a roots rock band. Their influences are rock and roll, blues, classic soul/r&b, country and some Mexican folk. As far as their overtly American genre influences go, which really dominate their music, the people that support those genres these days tend to be Caucasian, even blues and classic soul. I’m not sure what the fans can do about that.

I’m sorry, I just can’t understand why the fans bear any responsibility at all for lack of diversity in any genre. If you play it, the people will come. If you don’t like the type of people that come, play something else. That’s what Sturgill did.

All the innovators in music have moved so far beyond the musical level of Americana that they regard it as the equivalent of sixth grade. Roots music is by definition musically conservative. That’s not a bad thing at all, but it may help to explain its majority listener demographic: rootless or nostalgic cosmopolitans who try to compensate for their musical conservatism by over-compensating with the political stuff. It’s the musical version of cognitive dissonance.

The only exception I’ve heard is David Rawlings, who has a great ear for where the musical edge of tradition is.